god sake man. just wait till 13 comes along and then we will see who is right and FYI this whole Fed is too old thing is getting tedious. You know he will come back strong again, he always does.

What? How would it make you 'right' if he doesn't make number 2? No-one's said it will definitely happen. People just think it is very possible. Which it is.

Seriously, have you forgotten what has happened in the last 6 months? I could understand what you're saying if it had been another standard year for Murray, but it's clear that 2012 he's improved quite dramatically - particularly his mentality and confidence. He's an Olympic gold medallist now and a Slam winner. He crushed Federer for the loss of seven games for crying out loud. What with no-one knowing how long Rafa will take and how long he will be fit, and what with how the last few months have gone, I think it's downright stupid to try to claim that 2013 is just going to be another average year and that 2012 never happened.

Erm didn't he beat Nadal on his way to the US Open 2009? Just saying I can't right the guy off. After Djokovic won his first slam he had a dry period and critics were questioning whether he could win another, it took him 3 years to win another and I see no reason why Del Potro can't make adjustments to his game that will have him challenging again. But that's just my opinion

Good post MH - I agree that with the confidence Andy's got from his achievements this year he's got a very good chance of finishing the year ranked number 2 next year. He's gone up a level this year in terms of his peak performance and his mentality in the important matches. I can understand what John is saying about the need for greater consistency from Andy but I think that will now be a big focus for Andy in the next year. He knows he has to improve his Masters performances again and if does he'll make big gains in the rankings quite quickly.

Del Potro is one of my favourite players but I do have some doubts about whether he'll win another slam. His movement is worse than the top players and he's also not got too many options in his game if plan A isn't working. His fitness is a bit questionable too as he often seems to get tired in the 5 set matches. But having said that, if he can avoid Novak, Andy and Ferrer then he would have chances. He invariably beats Berdych, Tsonga & Tipsarevic, and Federer is prone to upsets against the big hitters (e.g. Tsonga last year, Berdych this year, Soderling the year before). I'm not sure about Rafa - Del Potro did beat him at the USO quite handily but Rafa had an abdominal tear at the time. He'd need a bit of luck to win another one I think.

I think the Slams will be up for grab for Nole, Andy and Del Potro in the coming years. It will be interesting to see if Nole can continue to dominate the Men's tennis world and if Andy is capable of challenging that and once he does, will he be able to keep the level up to a more consistency level.

Will have to keep an eye on all the newcomers as well, but especially those, who will be entering top ten in not so distant future. I don’t see the future as predictable based on what we have in hand right now. Federer now has one too many enemies who can take him out of a GS even before the semi on top of getting older and becoming slower. Nadal has taken too long a break so that’s a big question mark right there too. Will he be as efficient once he comes back because things are changing quite a bit in the men’s tour. Nole’s getting stronger and Andy is finally coming into his own term. Del Potro is getting better too. It will be a tougher task ahead for him IMH.

The only players coming through who look anywhere near as promising as the current crop (top 4) did are Gianluigi Quinzi and Alexander Zverev. And they're only 16 and 15 respectively. So some way before they get anywhere near fulfilling their potential.

Of the current crop, the best of the early 20's are the likes of Raonic, Nishikori, Tomic, Dimitrov and Harrison. Are any of them seriously going to ever hit the levels of the current top guys? Looking at the teenagers, the highest ranked is Jiri Vesely I believe, in the 200's (excluding those born in 1992 here as if they haven't turned 20 yet, they will soon).

This is a special era and I think it will be a while before we see any player hit these heights again. I also think that Andy will win a good few more Slams in his late 20's when the only notable competition will be Djokovic and Del Potro (who is way too one-dimensional to ever challenge Murray and Djokovic consistently. Hell, even Nishikori is able to nullify his game). But we'll see. Yes, the next big thing could come from 'nowhere', but they will be noticed at Junior level first by those who follow that level closely. And right now the only players of serious repute are the two mentioned in the first sentence. Potentially Kozlov (14) too.

The interesting thing about the article is the suggestion that cutting back on the number of tournaments he plays will keep Federer going longer, but the other side of it is that surely it will lose him points, and you have to wonder how 'match ready' he will be in certain circumstances. I mean, clearly he can get through most players with little preparation, but can he keep facing Djokovic, Andy, Delpo and a few others (in Shanghai Wawrinka got so close, and Fed hadn't played much immediately before) without being really ready? I suppose we'll see.